Loyola Jesuit College

Loyola Jesuit College
Motto	"Service of God and Others"
Established	1996
Type	Private
President	Ehi Omoragbon, S.J.
Principal	Ugo Nweke, S.J.
Students	Approx 650
Location	Gidan Mangoro, Nigeria
Campus	Urban, 70.4 acres (0.29 km²)
Colors	White and Blue
Mascot	Lion
Website	www.loyolajesuit.org

Loyola Jesuit College is a private Roman Catholic secondary school in Nigeria operated by the Society of Jesus religious order. The school was opened on October 2, 1996 and is named after the Society's founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola Jesuit College is a co-educational, boarding institution located in Gidan Mangoro in the outskirts of Abuja, Nigeria's capital. Loyola Jesuit College is regarded by many as currently being the best secondary school in Nigeria[1]. The highly selective school has claimed the best West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations results for the past seven years, as well as the best JAMB results for several of those years, and is thus regarded as the best in West Africa. The school has a reputation for graduating highly qualified students who go on to attend some of the best-ranked universities in the world.

It is located in Gidan Mangoro, in Karu, Abuja.

History

Loyola Jesuit College opened its gates on October 2, 1996. Funds to construct the school were provided by the Society of Jesus and many benefactors in the United States. The first principal of the school was Jim Kuntz, S.J. He supervised the building of the enormous school facility and served as principal for three years. He was then succeeded by O.T. Jonah, S.J. who served for 4 years in that office. Patrick Ryan, S.J. served as president of the institution during Jonah's term and for two years after. Following Jonah's term, Marc Roselli, S.J. took over as principal for the next three years. During his term, Peter Schineller, S.J assumed the position of president. The next president and principal was John-Okoria Ibhakewanlan (S.J.). On July 17th 2011, during the tenth graduation ceremony, Fr. Ugo Nweke was announced as the next Principal, and Fr. Ehis Omoragbon was announced as the new President.

Deaths of students on Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145

At first students from Port Harcourt travelled between school and their homes via the roads. Rising crime along roads during the 1990s made parents believe that road travel was too dangerous. In 2001, when Sosoliso Airlines began services between Port-Harcourt and Abuja, parents placed their children on the flights.

On December 10, 2005, Loyola Jesuit College lost 60 students in Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145. Among the many students who lost their lives was a family of three siblings and the Head Boy of the school at the time. The crash claimed 107 lives with two survivors. Kechi Okwuchi, a student at Loyola Jesuit, survived the crash. A new multi-purpose auditorium has now been built in their honour and memory (called the Memorial Hall).

Kechi was treated in Milpark Hospital at Johannesburg, South Africa as of 14 December 2005 and at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston, Texas, United States as of 6 September 2007.

Updated newsletters from the school can always be found on the school's website and are publicly accessible.[2]

Campus

The LJC Grounds

The LJC Campus is located on the outskirts of Abuja. The 70.4-acre (285,000 m²) campus is fully fenced which ensures the safety of the students. Loyola Jesuit College is equipped with four large classroom and laboratory buildings, three large boys dormitory buildings, one very large girls dormitory building, a chapel, a huge dining hall, a multi-purpose 'Memorial' hall, and staff quarters just to mention a few. It is also noted for having a great deal of which greatly enhance the aesthetic value of the school. Upon entering the LJC campus via the front gates, a large statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola is seen presenting his sword.^{[citation needed]}

The dormitories are Connelly, Loyola, Regis, and Xavier. Connelly is named after Cornelia Connelly, the founder of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus. The names of the others come from the Jesuit saints Ignatius Loyola, John Francis Regis, and Francis Xavier.

Admissions

Loyola Jesuit College is one of the most selective secondary institutions in Nigeria. In the year 2010, 5000 wrote the school entrance exam and LJC accepted 2% of its applicant (which is higher than Ivy League institutions). Entry into LJC is strictly by merit. Prospective students take a highly competitive entrance examination, after which a top percentage of students are screened through interviews. This ensures that only the best students are accepted into the school. Unlike many schools in Nigeria, Loyola Jesuit College does not accept transfers. It has a policy that ensures that students enter the school at the lowest class. Loyola Jesuit College is one of the first schools in Nigeria to implement a strictly online application policy. Prospective students both apply online and receive their results online.[3]

Student activities

Loyola Jesuit College promotes and supports dozens of organized student activities. According to the College's website, "Loyola Jesuit College has broad goals for the development of its Students: some of those goals are fostered by the academic program, but many of those goals are fostered only outside the classroom, through the school's extracurricular and formational programs. The school is one of the most noted in the annual Cowbell Mathematics Competition.

Student Activities or societies

• The Roar, student magazine, published from the Gidan Mangoro campus since 2000.The Editorial Positions are held by students at the school

• The Loyola Union, student organization dedicated to keeping the memory of the Sixty angels alive. It produces the annual Loyola Jesuit College drama which include Hopes of the Living Dead by Ola Rotimi, If... a tragedy of the ruled by Ola Rotimi and Hard Ground by Ahmed Yerima

• The Service Programme, student service organization which is dedicated to helping the children of the local area of Gidan Mangoro. It is helped and organized by many people.

• The Loyola Daily, a student internal newspaper that was launched in October 2010 with the intention of covering internal news in the college. The paper was formed recently and is run by the students of the college, primarily those in the Class of 2011. It aims to introduce the use of the press and information into the College's personality.

• The Blue Steel, This is a soccer tournament in the college. It was formed by a student in June 2010. The students take up the names of European clubs and form teams which play in interesting and action-packed matches. The Blue Steel takes the place of an Internal College Competition. It was created by members of the graduating class of 2011. It is widely watched and supported by both students and faculty alike.

• Information Technology Club, Information Technology Club (Info Tech Club) is geared toward fostering the acquisition of Information Technology (IT) skills beyond the regular class work in IT. Members of the club meet every week and undergo basic training with some hands on. Recently, the club designed a community-social-networking website, and has also executed basic software development projects.

• The Concerned Students International, The Concerned Students International, LJC is an advocacy group that was formed after the December 10 Sosoliso Plane crash. The group is currently embarking on the task of getting 60 prominent Nigerians to sign an advocacy commitment to ensuring the future is bright for Nigerians.

• NB: Most of The Groups in Loyola Jesuit College were formed and are run by students of the school. This demonstrates the independence that living in a very disciplined boarding school instills in its students.The ability to carry out the activities and still excel academically is testament to the College's all-round development.

College Presidents

• Patrick Ryan, S.J, Vice President for Mission and Ministry at Fordham University, 1999-2005
• Peter Schineller, S.J, 2005-2007
• John-Okoria Ibhakewanlan, S.J, 2007-2011
• *Ugo Nweke, S.J, (was acting President and Principal from August to December 2010.
• Ehis Omoragbon, S.J, S.J, 2011-date

Alumni

Alumni of the Loyola Jesuit College have gone on to attend prestigious Ivy League such as Princeton University, Harvard University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Cornell University,and other highly rated institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, Cambridge University, Oxford University, Imperial College London and London School of Economics.

External links

• Official Website